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Corn Week: Week 32 of BigBarn’s Food & Drink Weeks

Sweet corn is in season! Delicious British grown corn can be found everywhere this time of year. A versatile and delicious food that you can have any which way. Corn on the cob with butter and pepper, Barbecued with paprika or dried out and turned into posh popcorn on the cob. How ever you like it it’s not only delicious but so good for you.

10 facts about corn. (We think you will be surprised)

1. Corn is a cereal crop that is part of the grass family.

2. An ear or cob of corn is actually part of the flower and an individual kernel is a seed.

3. On average an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows.

4. Corn will always have an even number of rows on each cob.

5. A bushel is a unit of measure for volumes of dry commodities such as shelled corn kernels. 1 Bushel of corn is equal to 8 gallons.

6. With the exception of Antarctica, corn is produced on every continent in the world.

7. There are over 3,500 different uses for corn products.

8. As well as being eaten by the cob, corn is also processed and used as a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, potato chips, soups, marshmallows, ice cream, baby food, cooking oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and chewing gum.

9. Juices and soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain corn sweeteners. A bushel of corn can sweeten 400 cans of soft drink.

10. Corn and its by products are also found in many non-food items such as fireworks, rust preventatives, glue, paint, dyes, laundry detergent, soap, aspirin, antibiotics, paint, shoe polish, ink, cosmetics, the manufacturing of photographic film, and in the production of plastics.

Buy fresh, ‘picked today’ from your local farm shop

11. Thousands of acres of corn are grown in this country to feed bio-digesters that produce electricity.

Every year we promote sweet corn and how important it is to get really fresh corn on the cob with leaves, rather than the ready skinned, 4 day old, plastic packed, supermarket offer.

According to ‘Organic Facts’, corn aids in reducing the risk of digestive issues such as constipation. It provides necessary minerals like phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper, and helps alleviate anaemia with its B12 and folic acid content. It also helps you become beautiful! Corn is found in many cosmetic products and can aid in alleviating rashes or irritations of the skin.

So don’t delay use our local food map to find your local farm shop and ask when the corn was picked. You will probably find, like many other products, that it is cheaper than the supermarket, fresher and by buying locally you will be boosting your local economy.

If you’d like to be the next famous chef, then why not share your favourite recipe? For the chance to win a prize, please video your recipe and add it to KIS (Keep it Simple) Cookery. Please have a look at existing videos here and try and keep your video less than 2 minutes long.